Hans Herb was a student at the school for instrument manufacturing in Bubenreuth. After completing his studies, he worked at Hoyer and Grüner, as well as Höfner before opening his own wor...
Richard Hoover is the founder of Santa Cruz Guitars and a noted luthier known for his methods that demonstrate traditional guitar building is possible even in the modern era of technology...
David Hosler had a friend in school whose father had a wood-working shop. It was in that small shop where David built his first guitar and where his passion for making instruments began. ...
Paul Hostetter’s career as a luthier dates back to 1963, although his passion for music may have been born when he was. He started by giving guitar lessons before he began building instru...
Karl Hoyer was born in Schönbach/Luby in the Czech Republic to a family of violin makers. As a child, he helped in his father’s workshop, and in 1944, went to the school of violin making ...
Thomas Hoyer is the product manager of string instruments and worldwide distribution for Paesold and Höfner. After receiving his master degree in violin making in 1998, he started in the ...
Kiyokazu Ishibashi is proud to be in the music products industry and to follow the path of his father, who started the business following World War II. The music store was small in the be...
Grover Jackson grew up outside of Nashville, TN and developed a strong and lasting passion for music, not just playing it in noted bands, but in designing instruments to achieve creative ...
Siggi Jäger is a founder of Human Base. He specializes in hand crafting bass guitars. Sigge started making instruments in the mid 1980’s at Hoyer Guitars in Tennenlohe near Erlangen, Bava...
Don (DJ) Johnson joined the Ovation Guitar Company in 1968, just about the time Glen Campbell was introducing the unique round-back instrument on national television. DJ worked for the fo...
Max Junger is the director of Pyramid Junger GmbH. He carries on the family tradition of string making in the 6th generation. Founded in 1850 as A. Osmanek Musikinstrumenten & Saitenf...
Hideo Kamimoto wrote the book on guitar repair! He built his first guitar in the late 1950s and soon discovered he had a true passion as a luthier. Within a decade he opened H. Kamimoto...
Renee Karnes recalls meeting her future mentor when she was just eight years old. Over the years she developed both a love of banjos and a friendship with Henry Lea, who taught her the c...
TK Keckler moved to Memphis at an early age and began playing with local bands, which is when he met Mike Ladd. Mike was a musician who opened a small guitar shop in town and would later ...
Steve Klein is a guitar luthier’s luthier! As a pioneer and innovator in the methods and tools of guitar building and designer, Steve has maintained focus on the elements of his craft whi...
Gerhard Klier’s grandfather, Anton Schrötter, owned a violin shop and workshop in Cheb/Eger. In the 1920s several of Gerhard’s relatives moved to the United States. His uncle, Roman Klier...
Barrie Kolstein has proudly followed in his father’s footsteps as a noted authority, builder and restorer of fretted musical instruments. His father was an expert repairman and bow maker...
Silvan Küeng was born in Switzerland and began a friendship in school as a young boy with Pirman Giger. The two share a passion for music and guitars and began talking about how they wou...
Tsunesaburo Kurosawa has a deep passion for instrument building and has become one of Japan’s leading classical guitar luthiers. The success of his guitars grew into the need to create a...
Pete Langdell grew up in Northern Vermont and takes great pride in the fact that he has lived and worked in the same area his entire life. When he had an opportunity to establish his own ...
Marty Lanham first moved to Nashville in the early 1970s from San Francisco and soon set up his first workshop. He worked for Gruhn Guitars as a repairman for eight years while fine-turni...
Jean Larrivee fell in love with the guitar as a young boy growing up in Canada during the folk craze of the 1960s. He imagined a unique sound for an acoustic guitar and set out to create ...
Grit Laskin grew up in Toronto and as a teen had his mind set on playing the guitar during the folk boom of the 1960s. He performed, recorded and wrote music, some of which was recorded ...
Harvey Leach has an eye for art and skilled craftsman hands, which together has come to define a new era in guitar luthiery and in-lay artistry. Harvey’s work in guitar design has devel...
Dr. Alfio Leone was among the world’s best loved luthier of traditional Italian musical instruments. He learned his craft by years of studying the vintage instrument in the region of Sici...
Michael Lipe turned his passion for guitars into his own, successful business. Founder and owner of Lipe Guitars in California, Michael gained experience for his trade by building a serie...
Günter Lobe is a violin maker who is known for his faithful copies of Stradivari and other famous violins. He was an apprentice from 1977 to 1980 in the Ernst Heinrich Roth workshop in Bu...
Tony Louscher saw Jimi Hendrix live at the San Diego Sports Arena in 1970, which became an inspirational event in forming his musical passion. Just a few years later, Tony began working a...
Tim Luranc grew up in San Diego with his father, an educator, playing music in the house all of the time. His dad wanted to play a guitar with some of the popular music of the day, such ...
Kurt Lutz was a well-regarded German luthier who, along with many other instrument makers, settled in Bubenreuth, Germany following World War II. Mr. Lutz provided a first-hand account of...
Cyril Maillot joined the SAVAREZ String Company in 1994 with a focus on updating the company’s computer system. He has held several positions over the years but now as CEO his main focus ...
Ted McCarty was the president of Gibson Guitars when he signed Les Paul to help design a series of instruments with his name. Ted went on to design and patent guitars such as the Flying ...
